Marc Jacobs has spent more than three decades creating characters. There were the grunge girls who scandalized fashion in the early ’90s, the uptown society swans, the downtown club kids, the ingénues and the misfits who have long populated his runways. But the fantasy was never confined to the clothes. It also lived in the lashes, the liner, the attitude. Beauty was always an integral part of the storytelling. Now, five years after Marc Jacobs Beauty disappeared from shelves, the beloved makeup line is making its return, bringing a welcome dose of color, personality and irreverence.
On June 1, Marc Jacobs Beauty officially returns, launching exclusively at Sephora in one of the most anticipated relaunches in beauty. For longtime devotees, it is the resurrection of a cult favorite that vanished in 2021 when the original line — developed under LVMH’s beauty incubator Kendo — was discreetly discontinued. This time, the brand returns under Coty’s stewardship, armed with a fresh collection, a new creative chapter, and perhaps most importantly, a renewed sense of purpose.
For months, Jacobs has been dropping breadcrumbs. A cryptic social post here. A backstage tease there. Then came the Spring/Summer 2026 runway presentation, where Marc Jacobs Beauty appeared in the show credits, sending beauty aficionados into a frenzy. What once felt like wishful thinking suddenly seemed inevitable.
Inside a preview event at New York’s iconic The Standard, High Line on April 14, the mood felt decidedly celebratory. The space glowed in Marc Jacobs Beauty yellow, with silver Jeff Koons-esque daisy installations framing views of the Manhattan skyline and trays of monochromatic canapés circulating through the room. Amid the carefully considered extravaganza — a hallmark of any Marc Jacobs production — the designer himself appeared remarkably energized by the prospect of reentering the category.
“It’s the eyes for me,” he said, describing the category that continues to fascinate him most. “There’s the most opportunity for experimentation, expectation — all that possibility.”
The collection embraces pigment, texture, exaggeration and play. It is less interested in helping consumers look effortlessly polished than encouraging them to become someone else for the evening — or a more amplified version of themselves.
“I approach beauty the same as fashion,” Jacobs said. “It’s like character building.”
That philosophy is woven throughout the brand’s positioning. The products are described as a celebration of individuality rather than adherence to trends, channeling the same subversive New York spirit that has animated Jacobs’ work since his early Perry Ellis days.
Yet Jacobs is quick to distinguish inspiration from execution.
“I can’t take credit for the products,” he said during the preview, praising the scientists, chemists and laboratory teams responsible for transforming ideas into formulas. “I think about the story I want to tell and then hope for the best.”
That storytelling impulse shaped every aspect of the relaunch. Longtime collaborator Thomas de Kluyver, the makeup artist behind many of Marc Jacobs’ most memorable runway beauty moments over the years, created the makeup look for the campaign, while hairstylist Holly Smith handled hair. Together, the team mined decades of Marc Jacobs history, pulling archival pieces from the designer’s collections — particularly the exuberant silhouettes and attitude of the 1980s and ’90s — to inform the visual language of the new beauty universe.
The collection itself is intentionally edited, focusing on eyes, complexion and lips through products designed for what the brand describes as “high-impact, city-proof performance.” The star of the lineup may well be Drawn This Way Eyeliner, a waterproof gel-pencil available in 21 shades ranging from matte yellow and electric blue to glitter-infused black and lilac duochrome. Shade names like Delulu, Big Flex, No Shade, and Facts feel tailor-made for the internet age while preserving the tongue-in-cheek insouciance that has long defined the Marc Jacobs brand.
Then there is Born Star Eyeshadow, housed inside futuristic star-shaped compacts finished in metallic packaging. The cream-to-powder formula arrives in 14 shades that oscillate between practical and provocative, from matte nude neutrals to hot pink metallics and shifting blue-purple duochromes.
Completing the eye-focused offering is “Flashes” Mascara, a buildable formula available not only in classic black and brown but also an eccentric electric indigo blue.
The emphasis on lashes feels particularly personal. Jacobs cited his mother as inspiration for the gargantuan false lashes featured in his Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show, where eyelashes functioned almost like accessories in their own right. The topic also appears in Sofia Coppola’s recent documentary Marc by Sofia, reinforcing how beauty has become a progressively visible thread throughout Jacobs’ broader creative practice.
Even the packaging has been approached as an object of desire. Jacobs personally designed the collection’s custom components, finishing each piece with oversized metallic charms, from daisies to hearts. The result feels closer to a cherished trinket than a disposable cosmetic purchase, transforming everyday makeup products into collectible accessories.
Now over 60, Jacobs seems exceptionally enthusiastic about what comes next.
“I just turned 63 and feel like a teenage girl,” he said with a laugh.
It is a revealing remark. Beauty, after all, has long been sold through promises of youth. Jacobs’ approach feels refreshingly different. His excitement is not rooted in looking younger but in retaining curiosity — in experimentation, transformation, and the simple pleasure of becoming someone slightly different through a swipe of liner or a flash of color.
Who knows what could come next. Jacobs’ beauty signatures have always extended beyond makeup — most notably his long stiletto nails, the steady tap, tap, tap of them as much a part of his personal iconography as any handbag or heel. It is easy to imagine that instinct eventually finding its way into product. Then again, Marc Jacobs has never been particularly interested in staying within the lines.
For a generation of consumers raised on pared-back beauty codes and barely-there makeup, Marc Jacobs Beauty arrives with a different proposition entirely: more color, more drama, more personality.
In other words, exactly what one might expect from Marc Jacobs.
